Bullets and Body Slams
by RRatedauthor
Summary: Ten years ago, WWE superstar Matt Hardy was murdered. When the murder weapons surfaces, the case is re-opened. Can the detectives solve the crime or will the perpetrator escape justice again? Rated T for slight language, and violence.
1. Chapter 1

My first attempt at this type of story... I hope it works. All characters courtesy CBS inc. (Cold Case) and WWE inc. (Wrestlers) All rights reserved. The following story is fictional and bears no resemblance to a real event.

Bullets and Body Slams

July 6th, 1999.

The scene was a local bar outside of Philadelphia. Several loud, obnoxiously drunk, muscled men are sitting around a table, drinking. The table is covered is empty glasses and beer bottles. "Tubthumping" plays in the background.

"Well, boys, here's to ya." One of the taller men, with shoulder length black hair, and a soul patch, raises his drink. The others follow suit, echoing his comments.

"Now that you got the titles, everyone's gonna be coming after ya." The guy beside him added. "Including me and my partner."

The pair of young guys, obviously not used to being the center of attention, and probably not used to drinking this much at one sitting, basked in the adulation of the other people at the table.

The scene suddenly switched to the same two young men, apparently drunk, staggering down the street, holding on to each other.

"Matty, we finally did it." The younger of the two slurred.

"Yeah, Jeffro. We finally hit the big time. It's nice of the boss to give us a push, eh?" The dark-haired member of the pair wrapped his arm across the shoulders of the other man.

"We can't let the boss down Matty."

"Don't worry, little bro. As long as we're together, nothing will go wrong."

Two minutes later, the dark-haired man was lying in a pool of his own blood, two holes in his chest; his companion vainly trying to stop the bleeding...

Modern day...

"Matthew Moore Hardy... age 24. Found shot a few blocks away from a local bar July 6th, 1999." Rush said, dropping a photo of the deceased on Valens' desk.

"Hmmm... single, no kids, professional wrestler." Valens skimmed the original case file. "Police never recovered the weapon?"

"At the time, it was treated as a gang attack. You know, two kids from a small town in the south get to the big city, and take a wrong turn." Rush perched on the corner of Valens' desk and waited for him to finish reading the file. "But DWP were digging up an old section of sewer pipe and they found this."

A mould-encrusted gun in a baggie was placed before Scotty.

"It's a thirty-eight. The same caliber of bullet as was taken out of our vic." Rush announced "Ballistics matched the striation marks perfectly."

"Even after all this time? That's impressive."

"Not hard to do when the only thing hiding our murder weapon is twelve tons of concrete." Rush said "The gun is registered to one Michael Seitz... aka Dok Hendrix, aka Michael "P.S." Hayes."

"That name sound familiar." Valens flipped a page in the file.

"It should. At the time of the shooting, he was the on-camera manager of the vic and his brother." Rush replied

"Bring him in. Let's see if he's got anything to say."

While Michael was being brought in, Vera and Miller were canvassing the area. There weren't many people still living on that street ten years later, but one of the witnesses was still living in the same brownstone.

"Now, Mrs. Pederson. According to your original statement, you were in the kitchen getting a drink of water when you heard something that sounded like car backfire, correct?" Vera asked

Ethel Pederson, a frail lady in her mid-seventies, nodded.

"Do you remember what you did next?"

"Gosh, that's a long time ago." Ethel smiled sweetly. "Why are you asking now?"

"Some new evidence has turned up. So what did you do next?"

"Like I said, I couldn't sleep that night. My husband of thirty-seven years had just passed on and I was lonely. I went out into my kitchen and that's when I heard bangs from outside my house..."

"Bangs?" Vera repeated "Do you recall how many?"

"Three, but two of them were at almost the same time."

Vera and Miller looked at each other. The original officers had only written down that the witness had heard bangs and left it at that. Even the current detectives had been working on the assumption that the killer had left on foot. Now it looked like the whole idea of a random shooting might be inaccurate.

"When did you first look outside?"

"Like I told the officers, right after I heard the first two bangs, I looked out my winda and that's when I saw the one boy on the ground. The other one was screaming for help and that's when I heard the third bang."

"Thank you for your time Mrs. Pederson. If we need anything else, we'll let you know."

Vera and Miller stepped outside.

"The original crime scene was right about here." Miller stopped ten steps down the road from the Pederson house. "But what gets me is why were they even in this neighborhood? According to their co-workers, their hotel was halfway across town."

"Toxicology reported that the vic blood alcohol level was point-on-seven." Vera answered "Maybe they got lost."

"Maybe. But what a place to get lost in." Miller looked around. "Back in '99, this was a real rough part of town. Half the houses here were drug dens. It didn't start getting cleaned up until oh-four. You see that building over there?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Vera replied, looking at a boarded up duplex.

"Back in ninety-nine, it was the hangout for the Spikes." Miller answered "Biggest drug gang on this side of Philly. We broke them back in oh-three and the building has been left empty since."

"You still think it might have been a drug deal gone wrong?" Vera asked

"Think about it. Two young clean-cut kids from a small town finally hit it big. Maybe they felt like celebrating and went looking for some fun..."

"...and somebody decided that rather than take a piece, they'd grab the whole pie? Police said there was no evidence of robbery."

"Maybe we need to talk to the brother again, huh?" Miller and Vera strolled back to their car. "Meanwhile, get the crime lab out here. Who knows what the police missed ten years ago."

Flip to interview room

"So what's this about?" Michael Hayes sat, uncomfortably staring at Rush and Valens.

"You managed Matt and Jeff when they first got their push, right?" Valens asked, staring at yet another report.

"Yeah. It was a set up with another faction: the Brood. They covered me in blood and I 'hired' Matt and Jeff to take care of them."

"But we hear that they were planning to let you go." Valens stared Hayes down.

"That was ten years ago. I don't remember what the writers were doin'?" Hayes stared at the table.

"But you knew somethin' was up, right. I mean one minute, you're tight with the boys and the next, they're planning on getting rid of you."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Hayes stood

"Siddown. We're not finished here!" Valens said, pushing Hayes back into his chair.

"Touch me again and I'll press charges!" Michael bellowed.

It was time for Rush to step in. "Listen, I'm sure that you cared for those two. They were new to the business and needed someone to watch their backs, right. I know if a couple of guys I'd taken under my wing suddenly decided to go on their own, I'd be a little angry."

"It wasn't like that..."

"Then how was it?" Valens propped on the desk, staring Hayes down.

"It was around the time we were just into the Attitude era..."

Flashback (Alanis Morrisette's "Thank U" plays softly in the background)

"Hey, Matt, Jeff, you ready to win the titles tonight?" Michael bounded into the dressing room where the Hardy Boyz were just changing into their ring gear.

"Michael, do you mind?" Matt quickly covered up. He was still a little self-conscious about being naked in front of the older man, as was Jeff.

"Sorry, guys." Hayes turned around

"Tonight, the Hardy Boyz take the first step toward immortality." Jeff shouted

"Nervous?" Hayes asked

"A little." Jeff replied

"Don't be. Just follow the script." Hayes said

Both Matt and Jeff looked a little down at the mention of the script.

"Something bothering you?"

"Do you have a problem with us or somethin'?" Matt demanded. Jeff looked on suspiciously. "I mean, I'm sorry if we're not into the party scene like you are mister Freebird, but..."

"Whoa! What are you talking about?"

"Creative is splitting us up next week." Jeff came over and stood beside his brother, arms folded, a hurt look on his face.

"This quickly?" Hayes' face clearly showed his disbelief.

"They said it was your idea! What did you tell them?" Matt yelled, standing face-to-face with their soon-to-be former mentor.

"All I told them was that I felt you two were ready to take the next step and you didn't need me as a mouthpiece." He explained "Which you are."

Present

"So it wasn't them who wanted to get rid of you?" Valens clarified

"That's what I told the cops ten years ago and that's what I'm telling your ass now!" Hayes stood up again and this time, the detectives made no effort to stop him. "Can I go?"

"Not yet. What about your gun?"

"I reported it stolen from my hotel room in New York a week earlier. Check with NYPD if you don't believe me." Still standing, Hayes went for the door. "Now may I go?"

This time neither detective said anything, so Hayes stormed out of the interrogation room. In the doorway, he turned to face them. "I loved those two like they were my own sons. I would never hurt either of them."

Later that day, Vera and Will Jeffries pulled up outside a rundown bungalow on the south side of town. It was the last known address of one Jeffrey Nero Hardy. Following the death of his brother Matt, Jeff had literally dropped off the map, not even bothering to contact work. He'd just disappeared.

Jeffries knocked on the door. After a few minutes, a young woman pushed the curtain back enough to look out.

"Beth Britt? Detectives Vera and Jeffries. Philadelphia homicide. We're looking for Jeff Hardy."

"He's not here." She replied "He hasn't lived here for months."

"May we come in?"

"I told the police everything I knew." She adamantly refused to open the door.

"Look, Beth, we can either talk here now or we can do it downtown. It's your choice."

Sighing loudly, she admitted the two investigators into her home.

"I don't know what else I can tell you." Standing in the hall, hands on hips, a spatula pointed in their direction.

"For starters, how long ago did Jeff leave?"

"I haven't seen him for over a year." She answered, still defiant in her tone. "We had a fight. The next day he packed up and left."

"What was the fight about?" Jeffries queried

"Ever since Matt's murder, Jeff sometimes went into these dark depressions." She replied "The doctors prescribed him some stuff and it seemed to work. But about two years ago, the mood changes came back in a big way."

"Do you know what triggered it?" Vera asked

"No... wait, I overheard a phone call..."

"When was this?" Vera pulled out his notebook and started scribbling.

"It was the fourth of May... no, the third."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. A lady doesn't forget the day her lover just up and leaves."

Flashback

"Jeff, phone call." Beth held out the receiver. Jeff ran upstairs, looking mildly annoyed.

"Who is it?"

"I dunno."

"Hello?" Jeff hadn't been on the phone five seconds when his face turned red. He slammed the phone down angrily.

"Honey, whatsamatter?"

"Nothing, Bethy. I gotta go away for a couple days..."

"I knew he was lying, but that was the last time I ever saw him. He sends me money every month to pay the bills, but I haven't had any contact with him."

"How does the money get to you?" Vera asked

"The mail." She replied

"Do you have the envelopes they came in?"

"Just the most recent one... you don't think he had anything to do with his brother's death? I mean, those two loved each other. They were devoted. There was nothing Jeff wouldn't do for Matt, and vice-versa." She left to retrieve it.

"I'll see if I can get a copy of the phone records." Vera said

Having concluded their interview with Hayes, Rush and Valens were pouring over the case file again, hoping there was something else they had missed.

"Excuse me." Their attention was interrupted by an elderly gentleman standing over the desk.

"Can we help you?" Rush asked

"I'm Gilbert Hardy. Matt's father, I heard you've reopened my son's murder case."

"Take a seat., Mr. Hardy." Valens pushed a chair out.

"Gilbert, we've uncovered some new evidence that seems to indicate that your son might have been involved in something."

"What are you saying?" Gilbert's hands started to shake. "My son was a good boy!"

"Sir, we know it's hard to believe, but your son was found in a bad part of town, just across the street from a drug house. His blood alcohol level was..."

"I don't care what you say... my son wasn't like that!" Gilbert shouted

"Gilbert, did you know if Matt was having any problems with anyone at work?"

"I'm sure if he had, he woulda told me." Gilbert responded "My sons never hid any secrets from me."

"How about girls?" Rush asked

"I dunno. He mentioned one girl, but I don't think their relationship went anywhere."

"Did he mention her name?"

"Stephanie, I think."

"McMahon?" Rush asked

"Maybe. I only talked to him one time about it. He seemed real interested in her." Gilbert answered "You don't think she had something to do with it?"

"Who knows? Boss' daughter. Maybe her father didn't want her dating the talent." Valens replied

Lieutenant Stillman beckoned for Rush and Valens to join him in his office.

"I promise you, we will find out who killed your son." Rush smiled sweetly.

"Whaddaya got, Chief?"

"Crime scene swept the crack house. They found this." He dropped a baggie with a notebook onto the desk.

"What's this?" Valens asked, flipping through it.

"It looks like our victim wasn't as clean-cut as everyone thought. Page four."

Valens looked. "Wow! It looks like Hardy did a lot of business with whomever owned this. It's got dates, amounts, deliveries... you think Hardy was using?"

"It's a possibility. Maybe he got in a little over his head and his dealer decided to call in his marker." Stillman answered

"Do we know who his contact was?" Rush asked

"Guy by the name of Runnels."

"Do we know where this mook is now?" Valens demanded

"He's doing ten to life for murder upstate." Stillman answered

"Let's go."

...

"To what do I owe this honor?" Dustin Runnels, also known as "Goldust" to his clients, looked disdainfully at Rush and Valens.

"Word on the streets is you had your hands in a lot of pockets." Valens answered

"People talk." Runnels answered "So what if I did?"

"Matt Hardy. You had your hands in his pockets?" Rush asked, sitting down opposite.

"Maybe I did." Runnels looked smug.

"We know you did." Valens answered "We found your notebook. It seems like Matt owed you a few bucks."

"A lotta people did." Runnels answered "You sayin' I killed 'em all?"

"What we're sayin' is if you don't start talking, maybe we dig a little deeper and see what else you've been up to." Valens answered "If you help us, maybe you get outta here a little sooner..."

"Tell us about Matt."

"Matt? It wasn't Matt I was dealing to. It was Jeff." Runnels swallowed

"Jeff?"

"I hooked up with him maybe six months before Matt's death. We were just hanging around, shootin' it..."

"How'd the drugs come into it?"

"Kid was a newbie. Y'know, first time away from home, scared of not being accepted. He wanted something to ease his nerves, so I helped him out." Runnels answered

"When was the last time you saw either him or his brother."

"That's the funny part." Runnels looked around as if fearful that the wrong person might hear their conversation. "I was supposed to hook up with Jeff that night, but he canceled. Said he'd found someone else."

"That musta pissed you off! Losin' a customer."

"Not really. Happens all the time. But usually they come through with the scratch, if you know what I mean."

"Did you see them at all?" Rush questioned

"Yeah. Like I said I was supposed to hook up with them that night, but they never showed, so I'm hanging outside my crib, waiting for some action when I see the two of them strolling down the street outside my door."

"Then what?"

"Okay, I figure `hey, since the kids owes me ten large, maybe I can go persuade him to pay up'. So I approach." Runnels looks up. "But before I can get to them, the dark-haired one collapsed."

"Did you see anyone nearby?" Valens asked

"I didn't think nothing 'bout it at the time, but I saw a big black car drive away moments later."

"A limousine?" Rush asked

"Yeah."

"Well, thanks for your help." Valens answered

"Hey, what about me?" Runnels protested

"We'll be in touch."

In the corridor, they conferred.

"Whaddaya think? Could he be telling the truth?" Valens demanded

"He's got nothing to lose." Rush answered

"If we believe this guy, what now?"

"Who do we know connected to the vic that has access to a limo?" The light bulb had gone on. "Didn't their father say Matt had a crush on the boss' daughter?"

"Yeah, so."

"What if daddy dearest didn't like his daughter's choice of man and decided to do something about it.?" Rush theorized.

"Looks like you and I are gonna get some frequent flier miles on this one." Valens answered

"Pack your suitcase, I have a feeling it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

TBC

_Read and review folks... especially if you are a fan of "Cold Case". I hope this makes sense to you all. Again, it's my first time so be gentle if I've royally messed up. _


	2. Chapter 2

Act II

"Mr. McMahon will see you now."

Vera and Miller had flown all the way to Stamford, Connecticut to interview the Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment; Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

"Mr. McMahon. Detectives Vera and Miller... Philly Homicide." Badges were flashed. Vince looked at them, shrugged, and leaned back in his chair.

"What do I owe the honor?" He asked

Quick flashback to what he looked like ten years ago

"It's about Matt Hardy." Miller answered

"It's a tragedy what happened. Those two would've been huge." Vince said, a twinge of remorse in his voice.

"We've heard that there mighta been something goin' on between the vic and your daughter." Vera flipped open his notebook.

"Stephanie?" The remorsal tone turned to surprise. "I don't think so. She woulda told me if she was thinking about dating any one of our guys."

"With all respect, daughters don't always tell their parents everything." Miller stated

"We're a close family." Vince folded his hands on his desk and stared at the detectives. "I would know."

"Did you notice anything strange about the way Matt was behaving?"

"Not really. But you gotta understand, I was in the middle of a huge war with my competition back in ninety-nine, and we were still dealing with fallout from the Owen Hart situation, so the day-to-day activities of my wrestlers was not a top priority." Vince explained

"Nothing out of the ordinary, then." Miller clarified

"Not with Matt."

"How about Jeff?" Vera asked

"That's another story. From the first day, Jeff had always been high-maintenance. Even when he only worked for us part-time, it was still a day-to-day thing with him. I sometimes wondered if his mind was in the right spot for this business." Vince answered "He did come around, which is why I was giving him the push."

"What do you mean 'high-maintenance'?"

"Well, he missed production meetings and his ring work was a little suspect sometimes. I thought it might've been jitters, which is why I didn't do much."

"But he did come around, you said. What changed him?"

"Not what... who. When Matt approached me about forming the Hardy Boyz as a tag team, I was initially hesitant. We've had so many 'brother' tag teams over the years, I thought our fans would just see them as another gimmick."

"What changed your mind?"

"Chemistry. You could tell those two had something between them like no other team. Just the way they reacted to each other in the ring, it was incredible to watch."

"Did you know that Jeff was scoring drugs from one of your former employees... does the name Dustin Runnels ring a bell?"

Vince's brow furrowed. "Goldust?" he exclaimed "I heard rumors, but no names were ever mentioned."

"According to his file, you let him go earlier that year for violating your wellness policy. Yet, according to your own P.R. department, the company didn't have a policy until several years later."

"Not officially. After the steroid scandals of years ago, there was always an unwritten policy regarding the use of illegal drugs. We just didn't make it public because at that time there was no need to."

"But there had to be some use. Come on, look at some of the people you had back then. If they weren't on the juice..." Vera answered

"As long as they didn't get into any legal trouble, I'll admit I looked the other way."

"Maybe if you hadn't, Matt would still be here." Miller added

"Now, you said that you would've known if your daughter had been thinking about dating one of your guys... what about Paul Levesque also known as triple-H?"

"That was strictly a storyline." Vince replied "Playing the spoiled brat and he marrying for power."

"But they're married now, correct?" Miller clarified

"Last time I checked."

"Now, as part of this storyline, would your daughter and her 'husband' been seen on camera kissing and other moments of affection?"

"Probably." Vince answered "I was not in charge of our creative department at that point."

"How about off-camera? Would they have had to keep up the act?"

"It depends what they were doing. If it was work-related, then yes." Vince answered "But I don't see..."

"You don't see what?" Vera asked

"The day before Matt was killed, there was an incident."

flashback

Standing in the hallway, Vince was watching the crew load the truck prior to leaving for the following night's RAW in Fayetteville, when a scuffle broke out between Matt Hardy and Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

"I thought I told ya to keep ya hick hands away from my wife." HHH yelled.

"Give it a rest Paul. The show's over." Matt and Hunter were being held apart by Jeff and Ron Simmons.

"If you ever come near my wife, I'll make you pay!" HHH tore out of Simmons' grip and stalked off down the corridor.

"If you ever come near my wife, I'll make you pay!" Vera repeated "Sounds like a threat to me."

"And after Matt's death, you didn't mention this to anyone?"

"In hindsight, I should have. But at the time, I thought it was just adrenaline talking." Vince shrugged

"Thank you for your time." Miller said "If we need anything else, we know where to find you." She abruptly ended the interview and pushed Vera out the door.

"What was that about? We were getting somewhere." Vera shouted hoarsely.

"He's lying. The whole McMahon-Helmsley era wasn't until six months later." Miller stated

"How do you know?" Vera looked at his partner suspiciously.

"I had some friends who watched this stuff religiously." She replied "I saw a few shows."

Vera sniggered. "So now what? If McMahon is protecting someone..."

Jeffries and Rush were pouring over their interview notes; still having no luck with locating Jeff Hardy, they were hoping that something would turn up when Stillman dropped a file on them.

"Phone records." He explained "That call to the Britt household was made from a hotel room registered to Adam Copeland."

"That name sound familiar." Rush reached for the file while Jeffries grabbed the case file again.

"Adam Copeland, aka Edge, according to this he was also just starting out in the business." Jeffries read "He and his partner had a mini-feud with Matt and Jeff, but apparently that was pure storyline."

"He musta said something to make Jeff react the way he did."

"He's recovering from an Achilles' tendon injury. Looks like you two get to do some traveling as well." Stillman stated

Rush and Jeffries boarded a plane for Florida while Miller and Vera were tracking down Triple-H in Connecticut. They found him, of all places, at the home of his father-in-law. A figure of intimidation, he towered over the two detectives, two hundred sixty pounds of muscle and just as thick.

"Paul Levesque?"

"Yeah?"

"We're with Philly homicide. Can we talk to you about Matt Hardy?"

Paul looked around nervously. "You better come inside."

"Nice." Miller whistled at the impressive McMahon mansion. "Being married to the boss' daughter must have its perks."

"Not really. Even on my day off, I still end up going to work."

"Just can't say no to Mr. McMahon, eh?" Jeffries smiled

"I told the police everything I knew when this happened." Paul sat down and motioned for the two to take seats also.

"We're just clearing things up. According to your father-in-law, he overheard an argument between the deceased just before he was shot."

"Argument?" Paul's eyebrows went up. "I don't recall an argument."

"He said that you said `If you ever come near my wife, I'll make you pay!'" Miller added "Does that sound familiar?"

"My wife? Stephanie and I had been on two dates at the time." Paul seemed uncomfortable discussing his romantic life with two strangers. Either that, or lying ran in the McMahon family.

"But why would Vince tell us otherwise?" Vera asked

"Vince only cares about his image. If he even suspected that his baby girl was dating someone beneath him, he'd make that person suffer." Paul stated

"Physically?"

"He'd give him the worst travel schedule possible, put him in matches against the biggest guys in the company, basically make him regret joining the company and all in the name of our fans." Paul smirked

"What about Jeff?"

"Jeff? He hated him even more. Between Matt's adoration of Steph and Jeff's lack of work ethic, I think he wanted to get rid of both of them."

"If he wanted them gone, why not just fire them?" Vera asked

"I dunno." Paul answered "Maybe there was something in their contracts. You'd have to ask J.R... Jim Ross, he's the Vice-President of talent relations. He signed the Hardy's originally."

"If you think of anything else, give us a call." Vera handed Paul his card.

"This isn't gonna get back to Vince, is it?" Paul asked anxiously. "I mean, if he thinks I'm trying to finger him..."

"Vengeful kinda guy?" Vera asked

"When he bought WCW, the only contracts he kept were the ones of guys who'd never screwed him." Paul exclaimed "I may be his son-in-law, but I still work for him..."

Meanwhile, back in Philly, Valens was working solo.

"Excuse me, I understand you're handling the Matt Hardy case."

"I'm one of them. What do you want?"

"I understand you've been looking for me. I'm Jeff Hardy." The multi-coloured hair and the tattoos made this version of Jeff Hardy almost completely unrecognizable.

"Have a seat." Valens said with overt politeness. He quickly grabbed a notebook. "You know we recovered the gun used to kill Matt."

"I read the news. It said you were looking for me. Am I a suspect?" Jeff seemed nervous.

"We're just trying to make sense of what happened that night. Why were you in that area? Your hotel was on the other part of town?"

"We were drunk and I guess we got lost." Jeff played with his hands. "It was ten years ago."

"Not a real good part of town to get lost in." Valens answered "Convenient that your dealer happened to work out of the house across the road from where your brother got popped, you gotta admit."

Jeff stared Valens in the face, obviously he was haunted by that night.

"Look, we're just trying to figure out what happened. If you had nothing to do with it, then you have nothing to worry about. We know that Matt had a crush on Stephanie."

"Nah, man, you got it all wrong. Matt wasn't crushin' on Stephanie." Jeff answered "He was trying to get with Paul."

Valens did a double-take. "Paul?" he repeated "As in Triple-H Paul?"

Jeff nodded

"And Matt told you this?"

"He didn't hafta. We're brothers. I could always tell what Matt was thinking. But you didn't need to be a genius to know that something was up." Jeff stared at the floor between his feet. There was obviously something more, but Jeff was hesitant to say what.

"I know this is tough." Valens' could sense Jeff's sadness. "But you want us to find the guy or guys who did this, right?"

"Yeah, but it's my fault." Jeff shouted "I told Matty that he should talk to Paul about his crush before it start affecting stuff."

"Did he ever tell Paul about his feelings for him?" Valens asked

"The day before. Matt 'n me were going over the match with Kane and X-Pac and the Acolytes when..."

Flashback

"...and then Kane tombstones Bradshaw on the stairs." X-Pac stated. The others nodded.

"And that will set up our match the...." Matt's voice trailed off.

"Earth to Hardy?" Bradshaw waved his hand in Matt's face. Matt blinked twice and was back.

"Huh? What?" Matt shook his head, trying to clear whatever fuzziness remained.

"You spaced out."

"Matt's just got a lot on his mind. Don't worry about him. We'll be ready." Jeff pulled Matt away from the other four guys. "You have to tell Paul. I'm getting sick of coverin' for ya ever' time he's walks into your line o' sight."

"Jeffro, I can't. What if he says no. I don't think I could handle it."

"Listen Matty." Jeff grabbed his shoulders and turned him square. "Either you tell him or I will."

Matt looked horrified at this idea. "Jeff, no... please!" His voice no more than a whisper, Matt pleaded with him. "It'll ruin everything we've worked for!"

"And you zoning out isn't? All these years dad thought you were the sensible one." Jeff shook his head sadly. "Remember what he used to say?"

"Have you boys made any money with that crap yet?" Matt answered, in a gruff impersonation of his father.

"No." Jeff giggled "Be true to the man you are and take the consequences."

"I don't think that's what Dad had in mind when he said that." Matt smiled, a welcome change of expression.

"Matty, c'mon. What's the worst that can happen?" Jeff pushed Matt toward HHH.

"Hiya Matt. What's new on the farm?"

Matt closed and opened his mouth several times, the words he wanted to say taking a detour.

"You're gonna hafta forgive Matty... he's a little shy at times." Jeff slapped Matty on the cheek. "Now stop acting like a damn fish and tell Paul what you wanted to tell him."

Paul looked from Jeff to Matt expectantly.

"Is there something I should know?" he asked

Matt looked from Paul to Jeff, wordlessly pleading to be anywhere else but there. What made things worse was Jeff's complete misread of the situation.

'I'll be in catering if you need me." Jeff walked away.

"And that was the last time I spoke to him about it. Maybe if I'd stuck around..."

"You think Paul is the kind of guy to take this for what it's worth or would he be more the type to do something about it?"

"I don't understand... you don't think Paul might have...?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Valens replied "I'm just wonderin' if Paul might have felt threatened by this and maybe wanna do something about it."

"I don't know. I never saw him after that day."

"So did Matt tell him?" Valens asked "Y'know, that he had a crush on him?"

"I dunno." Jeff said again. "Matt rarely talked about personal stuff. I mean, I hadta bug and bug and bug before he even told me that he liked Paul that way."

"Well thanks for comin' in. If we need anything else, we'll let you know." The more Valens learned about the case, the less he knew.

"You are gonna find my Matty's killer, right?" Jeff looked to Valens for reassurance.

"You can count on it." Valens promised

As soon as Jeff had left, Valens went right to Stillman's office. "Chief?"

"What is it Valens?" Stillman was pouring over more case notes.

"Where are the others for one thing?" He asked

"Connecticut." Stillman answered

"How soon can we get them back here?"

"Whaddya got?"

"I just finished talkin' to the vic's brother. According to him, the vic had a homo crush on one of his coworkers."

"And you think he's the one?"

"It's motive." Valens answered

"Who we lookin' at?" Stillman queried, dropping the current file he'd been reading on his desk.

"Paul Levesque." Valens answered

"Vera and Miller are talking to him right now."

"I think he's our man, chief." Valens answered

"We'll see what they say when they get back. In the meantime, keep digging. If he is our man, I want an airtight case before we even think about extradition." Stillman pointed at Valens to emphasize this.

"You got it!" Valens left, leaving Stillman alone in his office.

In Florida, Rush and Jeffries had hooked up with Adam Copeland, who'd proved very elusive at covering his own tracks.

"We understand you and the vic were friends." Rush opened the questioning.

"Acquaintances." Adam replied "We hung out a bit."

"What was your impression of them?" Jeffries asked

"They were good guys to be around. Like I said, we never hung around a lot, but when we did it was fun." Adam answered "Look, I told all this to the cops ten years ago."

"Some new information has surfaced." Jeffries answered "Do you know why there was a phone call placed to the Hardy household from this number?"

Adam swallowed nervously. "Is this off the record?"

"Depends how helpful you are." Rush answered, then her phone rang. "Excuse me."

"I overheard one of the guys talking. It seems that a dope-dealer was about to get busted. I knew Jeff was using, so I just wanted to give him a heads-up. Honestly, that's all it was." Adam explained

"Did you ever use?" Jeffries asked

"Not from this guy." Adam answered "Am I gonna get in trouble for this? I mean, my career is huge right now. I can't afford to lose it."

Jeffries ignored Adam question. "When was the last time you saw the victim alive?"

"That night. I was at the bar with him and his brother."

"Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Other than the fact that they were both completely bombed? No." Adam said

"Will..." Rush entered from the other room where she'd been taking the call. "Lieutenant needs us back in Philly. Says there's a break in the case."

"Thank-you for your time Mr. Copeland." Jeffries stood. It wasn't easy for a big black man to get out of a beanbag, but he managed.

"What's the break?" He asked Rush outside the house.

"Jeff Hardy turned up." Rush replied "Valens got a statement and the chief is ready to move."

TBC

_Suspects galore but no hard evidence...  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Act III

The detectives sat around a desk pouring over the information they'd gathered over the past two days.

"I still think we should put the pressure on Paul." Valens interjected "He's our best shot at cracking this case. He's got motive."

"Anything back from NYPD on the gun angle?" Stillman questioned

"It checks out." Vera dropped a dossier into the pile that was growing larger by the minute. "Seitz reported the gun stolen from his hotel room a week before the murder. But no one recalls seeing Paul anywhere nearby. Get this though, the McMahons were staying in the penthouse suite at same hotel."

"Would they have known who else was at the hotel?" Stillman asked

"Maybe." Vera answered

"So we're back to the old man then?" Valens asked "I don't see it."

"Has anyone bothered to check on the daughter's whereabouts on the night in question?" Their lieutenant inquired

Rush stood. "I'm on it."

"She's in Philly for a book signing. Bring her in for a chat." Stillman nodded "The rest of you, keep digging."

"I don't see what this has to do with me." Dressed in a severe dark blue suit, Stephanie was the epitome of the young executive.

"We were hoping you'd be able to clear up a few things about your relationship with Paul Levesque. Ten years ago, how close were you?" Jeffries asked, sitting down opposite her.

"On or off-camera?" Stephanie asked

"Both. We've heard different stories from different people. Your father said you two were an item."

"My father wouldn't say shit if he had a mouthful." Any pretense of politeness went out the door in two seconds. "So don't try that crap with me."

"Stephanie, we're only trying to figure out what happened." Rush said

"If you must know, Paul and I were just friends." Stephanie glared at them both. "Nothing more."

"What about the deceased, Matt Hardy?"

"What about him?" Stephanie retorted "He was just one of the boys."

"Just one of the boys? Did you know he had an unrequited crush on your future husband?"

Stephanie's complexion paled. It was obvious that this was news to her. "Paul? But he isn't..."

"We know that. We're wondering if he said anything to you about Matt?"

Suddenly, it dawned on her. "You want me to help you put my husband in jail? I don't think so."

"Stephanie, we just want the truth..."

"The truth?" Stephanie kicked the chair back. "The truth is my husband is a thoughtful, loving man who would never hurt anyone."

"Do you recognize this?" Stephanie was shown a photo of Hayes' recently-recovered gun. Her expression changed for just a second before snapping back to her stone-cold I-am-Stephanie look, but it was enough.

"N-no." For the first time during the interview, she faltered. "I know nothing about guns."

Jeffries and Rush looked at each other. "Stephanie, I can understand you wanting to protect your husband, but if you know something, you better tell us."

"I never thought I'd see that gun again. It wasn't Paul... it was my Dad. He came back to the hotel that night and I could tell something was off..."

Flashback (Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" is playing on the radio.)

"Hi, Dad." Steph called out to her father, pouring over the latest sales figures.

"Hi, Steph. "

Stephanie ran to hug her father, but he surprisingly pushed her away.

"Later." He was surprisingly short with her. "I gotta clean up."

Vince ran into the bathroom and the sound of water running soon echoed throughout the room. Vince was not known for spending a long time in the bathroom so when the water hadn't stopped ten minutes later, Stephanie got curious.

She tiptoed to the bathroom door, trying to come up for a believable excuse if her father caught her spying on him. The door was open a crack and she put her eye to it. Inside, Vince McMahon was staring blankly at his reflection. He'd removed his suit jacket and stuck into the waistband of his pants was a gun. Steph recoiled at the sight, rushing back to her table as the same time Vince shut off the water.

"Interesting." Stephanie whispered "When I asked him how his night was, he said `interesting'."

"And you never said anything about this?" Rush asked

"I didn't want to believe that my Dad could do something so heinous as this." Stephanie collapsed into the chair.

"It's alright." Rush placed her hand on the distraught woman's shoulder. "You did the right thing now."

Jeffries left the room and purposely strode toward Stillman's office.

"The daughter says she saw her father with Hayes' gun the night of the murder." He announced

"Can you prove he was the one who fired the shots?"

"What if Paul finds out about the crush and goes to his future father-in-law? Daddy wants to make his little girl happy so he agrees to take care of the problem. Whether he planned to do it himself or not we don't know, but I think we got enough."

"Get McMahon and Levesque in here. Put the screws to both of them and see who breaks first." Stillman replied

Neither Vince McMahon nor Triple H seemed none the happier to be dragged into a Philadelphia police station for interrogation.

"How much longer is this gonna go on? "Paul barked

"We talked to your wife..."

"Stephanie?! You leave her out of this!" It looked like the extra guards they had posted outside the interview rooms might be needed more sooner than later.

"...and she told us some interesting things." Valens put his leg on the chair and faced Paul.

"We know that you told her about Matt Hardy's crush on you."

"What? Couldn't take the ribbing if the boys found out you were the love interest of a queer?" Valens confronted Paul.

"I'm not like that!" Paul yelled

"Just tell us Paul."

"I don't have a problem with Matt being that way. In fact, I was kinda flattered..."

flashback

"If you got something you want to say to me, spit it out..."

Matt's face matched the color of his ring shirt: dark red. "Paul, y'know that I like ya, right?"

He snorted. "Who doesn't."

"No, I mean really like you." Matt looked at Paul, praying that there would be some understanding before Matt had to get any more explicit.

"Are you trying to say what I think you are?" Paul's eyebrow went up.

"Forget I said anything, man." Matt turned to walk away, but Paul grabbed his arm.

"Come with me." He said in a low tone.

Paul dragged Matt into the parking lot. Conveniently parked nearby was the McMahon's limousine.

"Can we borrow the car for a moment?" Paul asked the driver. "Hardy 'n I need to talk about a few things."

"Certainly, sir." The rear door was opened for them.

Paul climbed in. Matt just stood there wondering if this was really happening. Was he really going to be alone in the back of a limo with the man he'd been secretly lusting after? Or was he going to get the crap kicked out of him? Either way, Matt realized he didn't care.

"We don't want to be disturbed, so just bang on the window if someone is coming."

When Matt hesitated a moment longer, Paul grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him inside, pulling the door closed.

"Now that the rest of the company isn't around to watch you make a total fool of yourself, do want to explain exactly what you mean?"

"Paul, I know you like girls..."

"Whoa! You're sayin' you're into me into me?" Paul answered

"This is a mistake... can we forget this happened?" Matt reached for the door handle, but Paul pulled his arm back.

"Listen kid, we're gonna hafta work together from now on, so if would be best if you stopped acting like a scared kitten around me. I don't know what people have told you about me, but I'm not homophobic."

Was that a smile on Triple H's face? Matt dared to hope.

"And I must also say that I am kinda curious as to how a guy is different than a girl, but the timing is all wrong. Creative wants me to do something with Stephanie and I don't think it'll look real if I'm leaving here here for a midnight rendez-vous with you." Paul answered

"I understand." Matt replied sadly.

"Now a one-night fuck is another story..." Paul pulled Matt into his arms and smothered his lips with a kiss.

"How much more graphic do you want?" Paul asked "Suffice to say, we got real personal in the back of that car that night."

"Did anyone ever find out" Rush asked "about you and Matt?"

"I don't think so." Paul answered "But who knows. I swear I would never kill Matt. I may be a lot of things... egotistical, power-hungry, a sledgehammer wielding maniac, but I am not a murderer!" He shouted loud enough for Miller to hear outside as well as Vince McMahon in the adjoining interview room.

..."Now Vince. You've been lying to us since the beginning. This is your one chance to tell the truth. We have a witness who saw you with Hayes' gun the night it was stolen." Jeffries said calmly.

Vince looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel.

"Yeah, I took it. But it isn't what you think."

"Why'd you take it, Vinne-Mac?" Vera asked "A man with your kinda money shoulda been able to buy his own gun, dontcha think?"

"I wasn't thinking about myself." Vince replied "Michael Hayes had a tendency to get drunk and then lose complete control. I knew he had a gun and I also didn't want something to go wrong."

"So you stole it?" Vera asked

"I bought it. I gave him five hundred dollars for it."

"Then why did he report it stolen?" Jeffries asked

"I told him to. I also told him that if he was found to be anywhere near a gun again, he would be out of a job on the spot!"

"What did you do with the gun?" Vera asked "A thing like that you just can leave lying around."

"I was planning to throw it away, but it was taken from my room."

"Why didn't you tell that to the police?" Vera asked

"Tell them what??? That the same gun was stolen twice within twenty-four hours? How would that make me look?" Vince yelled

"A lot better than how you look now." Jeffries replied, disgust evident in his words.

"And nobody else knew about this?" Vera demanded

"No one except Hayes and myself. I even hid it from my own daughter." Vince answered, hands gripping the table tightly.

"Sit tight." Vera and Jeffries stepped out. They were joined by Valens and Rush.

"Whaddaya got?" Vera asked

"It looks like Paul and our victim had a one-night stand in the back of a limo the day before he died." Rush said

"So? Maybe he killed him so word wouldn't get out." Valens added

"Maybe somebody did find out." Rush said "Get a passenger list of all flights leaving that night.."

"What about those two?" Vera asked

"Let 'em stew. They've been jerking us around for days, a couple hours won't kill them."

...

Several hours later, an anxious-looking Stephanie McMahon returned to the precinct.

"What the hell is going on? " she demanded "I get a call saying my father and my husband are being charged!"

"We can talk in here." Rush led Steph into the same interview room her father had been in hours earlier. Not known to her, but on the other side of the two-way mirror, her father and her husband were watching along with Lt Stillman and Detectives Valens and Jeffries.

"Stephanie, we wanted to tell you in person that we have enough evidence to convict your husband with murder in the first degree and your father with accessory."

"They could'nt have have done it!" Stephanie wailed "You're lying."

"I"m sorry but it all adds up. Neither Vince McMahon nor Paul Levesque appear on any flight manifest leaving Fayetteville that night." Rush said "I know it's hard to believe."

"Of course we didn't fly. Our limo broke down and we missed the flight. By the time we got to the airport, I was the only one who made my flight."

Rush raised her eyes. On signal, Vera entered the room. "A nice try Stephanie, but according to this, you never showed for your flight, despite arriving a good hour before it was scheduled to depart."

"I don't know what you mean?"

"Can you explain this? A receipt from Avis rental showing that they rented a black Lincoln Town car to S. McMahon."

Stephanie stared at the receipt. "I loved him." She whispered

"Tell us what happened." Rush asked

"The night before, I was going to take Paul out to dinner after Heat. It was supposed to be half-surprise, half so we could work out what creative was going to be setting up. The whole McMahon-Helmsley era was already in the works. I got to the show and I couldn't find him. Then someone told me he'd seen Paul duck out with Matt Hardy..."

"Who you knew had a crush on Paul. How did that make you feel?"

"Like I was being used. Paul and I were only just friends, but I really thought that he wanted to be with me. And then to see him with Matt Hardy... it just made me sick!" Stephanie's voice was filled with anger.

"Then what?"

"At first I thought that maybe they'd just been talking so I waited until they were gone." Stephanie.

"How did you get the gun?" Vera asked

"I stole it from my Dad's suitcase. The old fool was too busy counting his money to realize what had happened until days later."

"And that night?"

"It was easy to slice one of the limo's tires. Another thing about my dad, he always cut it close when it came to booking his flight out. I just didn't figure that it would take an hour to fix it."

"That's why you booked the later flight. You needed enough time to get to the airport, get the car, kill Matt Hardy, then return to make your plane." Rush summarized

"And all this because you saw them get out of a car together."

"If they hadn't been so stupid as to leave the condom wrapper on the floor of the car I would not have even thought of that!" Stephanie yelled. "How would you feel if the man you love turns out to be a player for both teams! I shoulda killed him too!"

***

CLOSING MONTAGE To the tune of Goo Goo Doll's "Iris"

Shot one: Stephanie McMahon being led away in handcuffs. She passes Paul and Vince Flashes to earlier appearances and looks at Vince with sadness and Paul with anger.

Shot two: Beth Britt knocking on the door of a beat-down apartment building. It opens and Michael Hayes steps out. She hands him an envelope. In it is a signed photo of the original Hardy Boyz. She wipes a tear from her eye and hugs him.

Shot three: Miller and Jeffries in a bar. WWE is on the television and Miller seems to be getting into the show, while Jeffries nurses his drink, a look of boredom on his face.

Shot four: Gilbert Hardy weeding his flower bed when a shadow steps into his line of sight. He looks up and Jeff is standing there. They hug tightly.

Shot five: Vera packing away the file on Matt Hardy. He closes the box and writes the word "CLOSED" on the lid. After he places it on the shelf, he turns and sees the spectre of Matt Hardy. He smiles, does the "Hardy Gunz" and fades out.

FADE TO BLACK

THE END

_Just a little something to take my mind off of Jeff and Tom for a couple of days. I hope it provided my readers with a much needed diversion as well._


End file.
